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| Florence |  Florence is proud of historic neighborhoods such as Santa Croce and colorful San Frediano and Santo Spirito; ornate churches, such as the complex Duomo with its majestic cupola, Giotto's Campanile (bell tower), the Baptistery with Ghiberti 's bronze doors; Santa Maria del Carmine and Cappella Brancacci, housing frescos that changed the course of Western art forever. You may explore amazing museums such as the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, Museo dell' Opera del Duomo, Opificio delle Pietre Dure, and the smaller and less discovered Museo Horne (former residence of a British arts collector), Museo Marino Marini (modern art; housed in one of the city's oldest churches). Relish far-reaching views over the city from Forte Belvedere, Piazzale Michelangelo and Fiesole.
You also may enjoy meals in countryside trattorias and in world-renowned restaurants; visit food markets such as Mercato Centrale and Sant' Ambrogio; sample local specialties such as cured meats, game dishes, hand made fresh pastas, mushrooms, tartufo, panini, regional pecorino and honeys; and have the chance to taste and buy superb Italian wines.
You may set off for excursions to the hill towns of Siena and San Gimignano; to delightful Lucca, rich with history and landscaped villas; to the chic resort town of Forte dei Marmi; to Prato with its gorgeous historic center and the excellent Museo Pecci (contemporary art); to Pistoia, often overlooked but worth a day of leisurely exploration; to Pisa, to ancient Arezzo (exceptional monthly antique market); to marvelous Cortona and the Valdichiana; to the Chianti region, its celebrated wineries, ancient castles, and apparently frozen in time little villages; the hill towns of Southern Tuscany, such as Pienza, Montepulciano and Montalcino; the still untouched Maremma; rich with remnants of an ancient past and now home to Alain Ducasse's luxury hotel, L'Andana. The rugged, and little known Lunigiana region, with peculiar geography and cuisine, and the eerie landscapes of Carrara marble quarries is another place of interest.
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